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Local leaders join in National Day of Prayer service

By CHARLOTTE BURROUS burrousc@ cañoncitydailyrecord.com

Posted:
05/02/2013 09:20:28 PM MDT

When United Nations Secretary-General U Thant asked distinguished scholars and statesmen from 19 countries around the world how to find peace almost 50 years ago, no one could answer it then nor can they answer it now.

Leading a National Day of Prayer service Thursday at the Vineyard Church, Pastor Larry Chell, of the Ministerial Alliance, began with a quote from U Thant.

"What element is lacking so that with all our skill and with all our knowledge, we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity," asked Thant all those years ago. "What is it that inhibits us from going forward together to enjoy the fruits of human endeavor and to reap the harvest of human experience? Why is it that for all our professed ideals, our hopes and our skills, peace on earth is still a distant objective, seen only dimly through the storms and turmoils of our present day?"

After 50 years ago, the answer is still not known to mankind, Chell said.

From the world to the nation, from the state to the county, from the city to the neighborhoods, people gathered to pray for the leaders, officials, residents and families Thursday during National Day of Prayer.

"The answer still alludes most of mankind," said Chell. "Those who hold to a Christian faith know the answer.

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Apart from a right relationship with Jesus, God's son, there can be no peace. His death on the cross reconciled vertically a whole God from a sinful man; horizontally, selfish people and finally, his death on the cross reconciled internally a war that rages in the hearts of all people."

He commented most people know the world is in trouble.

"We know that Jesus is the hope of our world," Chell added.

Others who participated in the service included Fremont County Judge Norm Cooling on behalf of the judicial system, Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker on behalf of the law enforcement and first responders, RE-1 District Superintendent Robin Gooldy, on behalf of the educational system and Sheilah Rollins on behalf of the churches.Commissioner Ed Norden led the prayers for the county.

"We rejoice in the moisture we got, but I think we, as community, need to focus daily on prayerful supplication to end our long and extended drought," he said. "These drought conditions in the past year or 18 months have placed a strain and burden on our government (and) in the lives of our citizens. It's affecting our families, our trees, our animals, our economies (and) our communities as a whole."

Beicker said he would attend the Peace Officers Memorial today, where every year fallen officers are remembered.

"We do have an officer on that Memorial. It's disturbing this year (because) we are honoring 15 officers who have fallen in the line of duty," he said. "Five of those are historical. Five of those have lost their lives in serving others. That doesn't include correctional officers who lost their lives this past year."

Gooldy noted that across the country, the comment comes up that God had been taken out of the schools, but he said that is not true.

He told a story about a little girl who mentioned God when answering a question. When she asked if she could say that in school, a little boy reminded her they could say God in school because the Pledge of Allegiance has God in it.

"I think it's important to remember the schools are made up of people in our community," he said. "They're people we go to church with. They're people when they're having trouble, we pray with. They're the people when things happen in other parts of the country, we pray that those things don't happen in our schools. So is there prayer in schools? I say, of course there is. Just like in the Pledge of Allegiance, the schools have God in it."

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